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The Many Faces of Ian Gibson
First we’re inbred, then we’re not. One minute he pretends to be against the war, speaking at any available opportunity to antiwar crowds but doesn’t vote against it. He turns up to address anti ID card groups as an ally, yet he votes for ID cards in the commons. Can we trust anything this man says? Ian Gibson is an example of politicianism— he tries to get his face in the paper and get the support of any group that appears remotely in his political ballpark. Politicians are an untrustworthy bunch—they flit between trying to serve their people (get their vote) and obeying their masters (their financial backers or their party whips).
As the old saying goes—”don’t vote, it only encourages them”.
Norwich / Norfolk — Who Cares?
Norwich City Council are currently trying to get unitary status for our fine city. This means that Norwich would be ruled solely by Norwich City Council, which would take some of the responsibility away from Norfolk County Council. The Evening News'’ website is, at the time of writing, holding a poll as to whether people are in favour of this move. The majority of people who voted seem to be against the City gaining unitary status, but a significant minority supports it. Roughly about 10% of the people who voted, selected the “don’t care” option.
Many reading this will almost certainly think that this is a sign of apathy towards politics. Perhaps it is. Alternatively, perhaps it shows that some people realise that it matters not whether Norwich is ‘awarded’ unitary status, or whether it remains under the control of this current two-tier regime.
Whatever happens, the end result will be the same. Will changing one set of rulers for another really improve our lives? To us at the Great Commotion, the question of who should have control over the city is an obvious one. We think that it is the people of Norwich who should be in charge of the things that effect them in their everyday lives, instead of merely a handful of politicians who have never even spoken to most of the people they are supposed to be representing. The question we are presented with is whether or not we should have a unitary authority, or remain being governed by a two-tier authority. However, it is the third option of being governed by ourselves that seems the most appealing.
Intimidation at Mildenhall Peace Camp
The US air force have been attempting to clear peace protesters off land beside a controversial base by circling aircraft over their peace camp until late at night.
A peace camp has been set up outside Mildenhall Airbase which is being used to fly arms to Israel (the sites was previously used for rendition flights, and for bombing Libya and Iraq) after being diverted from Prestwick. It is the major logistics base for the US in this country.
The USAF placed a C130 Hercules over the base for over an hour last night, almost touching the trees above the camp, a move which the campers believe was meant to shock and awe them.
There has been a great deal of local interest and support, with people coming down to find out what is going on in their back yard. According to people living in the area there has been a vast increase in traffic over the last couple of weeks. A couple of commercial planes have arrived in the last couple of days which campaigners are following up.
The site is alcohol free. A protester said: “We need people to give us support - particularly overnght during the week since we have had abuse / harrassment from US personnel from camps outside Lakenheath.
“If the bombs are not going to kill innocent people in Lebanon (possibly Iran/Syria next) then they are being used in Iraq.”
Another opportunity to mock the BNP
Jane Griffin recently divulged some frank opinions of her husband Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party.
“He’s never had a proper job,” she complains about her work-shy parasitic spouse during an interview with masters student Paul Coletti, who was researching his thesis on the far right. “I’ve been the one going out every day working while he’s playing stupid politics. I work with Asian nurses and ethnic minorities, and I sometimes hate being talked about as the wife of the BNP leader.”
She really ought to divorce (or kill) the lazy racist loser.
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Older Stories
Norwich Musicians Can No Longer Remain Silent
Those of you who have been reading the Great Commotion, or indeed, those of you who simply enjoy live music, will have noticed that the Norwich music scene is in trouble. Many venues are finding themselves increasingly restricted following the introduction of sound limiters, which cut the music when bands exceed a certain volume and after fighting so hard to stay alive, the ferryboat closed down, depriving local bands of one of the most well known venues in the city. Recently, rumours have spread that the waterfront might be closing. Although this has been thoroughly denied by the Waterfront staff, many are still worried that Norwich’s music scene is dying.
However, it seems that not everyone is willing to let the music die without a fight. A new campaign has been launched with the aim of “Saving Norwich Music”. The campaign was founded by a staff member at a local music venue. The founder, who has chosen to remain anonymous, says that there were many reasons why the campaign was launched, including the introduction of a sound limiter at the venue they work at, which has pushed away many bands. They stated that “It’s very hard knowing that they love playing here but can’t because the sound limiter cuts out constantly.”
Another reason was the fact that Norwich is losing venues faster than it’s gaining them. “The Ferryboat, The Festval House, The Red Lion, The Oval, Zoom, Fat Pauly’s the list goes on. Although the council aren’t responsible for all of them closing, they provide youth centre’s, health centre’s etc because of public demand. There is a public demand for somewhere like Fat Pauly’s. Decent bands played there although it was a bit of a dive and it was always busy.”
The campaign founded claims that the council’s apparent war on music is no new thing, but actually started 6 or 7 years ago when “the council have slashed the music budget in Norwich in recent years. In all honesty I don’t know how that stands now, but it was appauling a few years ago. Orchestras, Jazz bands had to close or start charging termly fees which started to make it a bit elitest which was not what anyone wanted. Children should be able to showcase their musical ability in any form they choose (as should grown ups) without it being made about money”
They also said the ultimate aim of the campaign is to get the council to fix the problem that it has created. ” I suppose I want the council to pay for the soundproofing of venues. If they give planning permission to put flats all over the place regardless of what’s already there they should consider the way it’s going to effect local businesses etc and think more deeply about the long term possibilities.
The campaign plans to protest as part of the Lord Mayors Procession on Saturday 15th July. No concrete plans have been made after that.
While most of the feedback has been positive and has gained support from both local musicians and music fans, some are worried that the Lord Mayors Procession event will give Norwich musicians a negative image due to potential trouble makers. The Campaign founder has strongly stated that they hope no one will cause any trouble during the demonstration. “The Lord Mayor’s procession is a family event, and as a parent myself the last thing I want to do is upset the families who are just out for a nice evening.”
For more information vist the campaign’s myspace at http://www.myspace.com/saving_norwich_music
Anti-incinerator campaign launches website
The campaign battling against the proposed waste incinerator for costessey now has it’s own website, you can visit in here at www.nail2.co.uk
Not fit to rule England but good enough for Norwich?
Following the sacking of Norwich South MP, Charles Clarke the Great Commotion editing team have been celebrating in a wild and immoderate way. Mr Clarke was sacked because the media highlighted his failure to follow recommendations to deport foreign nationals on their release from prison. The law states that immigrants who have served at least a year in prison should be considered for deportation. In this particular case, the media emphasised that a small number of these people had been convicted for violent crimes such as rape and murder. We at the Great Commotion think it is ridiculous to believe that certain people are too dangerous to the people of this country, yet it is perfectly acceptable for them to be allowed to roam the streets of other countries. Is the safety of British people somehow more important than that of citizens of other countries? We would also like to state our disappointment that it was this issue that made Blair finally realise how rubbish Charles Clarke is. This is a man who has campaigned for the death of our civil liberties, with his determination to establish an ID card scheme and a policy of imprisonment of foreign nationals without trial. Clarke should have been sacked months ago.
Incinerator Inside
In January this year, John Birt (an ex-adviser to Tony Blair) became chairman of the Waste Recycling Group, a waste management company which builds incinerators. This suspiciously coincided with a leaked document revealing that the government planned increasing incineration of rubbish over the next fifteen years from 9% to 25%. Because the Green Box Recycling Scheme in Norwich doesn’t take plastic, it will have to be incinerated. Incineration of waste with even moderate plastic levels releases particularly nasty compounds such as dioxins and other persistent organic pollutants. These are usually cancer causing, can interfere with the immune system and can cause birth defects. Even if they are emitted at “safe” levels, they pass through the food chain and accumulate in the animal and dairy fat in our food. Costessey county councilor, Tim East described the shenanigans as “insider trading”.
Unhealthy Option
Pimping out young girls and selling the organs of homeless people are both illegal in the UK, which may explain why Octagon Healthcare has chosen to make its money from exploiting the people of Norwich. In 2000, Octagon Healthcare refinanced the N&N hospital, making a cool £82 million, on top of what they had already made from building the hospital. Things have not worked out so well for the hospital and the patients; this month the Commons Public Accounts Committee reported that Octagon Healthcare is the ‘unacceptable face of capitalism’ and that the N&N NHS Trust may have to pay £257 million of tax payer’s money in order to terminate the contract. Meanwhile the hospital
says it can’t afford £1 million for a desperately required cardio treatment centre. Octagon Healthcare Limited is a money spinner created by 3i plc, Barclays UK Infrastructure Fund, Innisfree PFI Fund, John Laing Investments and Serco Investments with the aim of profiting from the design, construction, finance and part operation of the new hospital. The company is financed by a consortium of 18 banks and five shareholders.
SnO Future
The controversial SnOasis project has been given the go-ahead by Mid Suffolk council. The SnOasis ski resort will be built near Needham Market and will feature 261 houses, in addition to a refrigerated ski slope with “real” snow, all within spitting distance of a landfill site. It will of course provide jobs for local people, although they will be minimum wage as the well-paid management will be brought in from outside the area. See
www.easf.org.uk for more details.
“T’anks For Nothing, Anglia Water”
A local paper, which will remain nameless (The EDP) recently printed an article about a new water tank that Anglia Water is going to build in Dereham. “Article” isn’t really the right word, “press release” may be more accurate. The tank is being built because Anglia Water is failing to meet government guidelines of the levels of toxic metals in our drinking water. Readers will be pleased to know that Anglian Water “hope” to meet the guidelines by December, the deadline the government as set for Anglian Water. Anglia Water have a far from clean record where safety is concerned, for example, in 2002 Anglia Water were fined £200,000 for pumping sewage into the River Crouch in Essex.
“Home Office Go Away! Djillali is Here To Stay!”
The above was just one of many chants heard on numerous protests held after Djillali Salemkour was taken by Norwich police on 15th of March. Although he moved to Norwich in 1993, Djillali was born in France to Algerian parents. You’d expect that if the powers-that-be were to send him back to anywhere, they’d send him to France, where he was born and raised, right? Wrong! After a brief stay in Bethel Street police station he was sent to a deportation centre in Harmondsworth and then sent to Algeria, despite the fact that he has no family or friends there (is anyone else reminded of Nailia Galieva being sent to Moscow, despite being from St Petersburg?).
Djillali, who is a dedicated anti-war activist and has performed music at anti-war demos, has a large group of activist friends, so it came as no surprise when a small group of protesters took to the streets in the early morning of march 16th. The protesters stood outside Bethel Street police station carrying placards and shouting chants that demanded Djillali’s immediate release, although unfortunately this did not have much effect. Two more protests were held that day, one at lunch time and another in the evening.
The Free Djillali campaign was launched shortly afterwards and more protests were held outside the forum in Norwich. The campaign was still in it’s infancy when Djillali was deported, but his friends and supporters have not given up hope just yet; they’re continuing the campaign and they hope to bring Djillali back. At the time of writing Djillali is applying for a temporary visa to try and get back into the country, but will need money to do so.
If you wish to get involved in this campaign in any way, send an email to freedjillali@yahoo.co.uk or phone 07881 483542.
Brazilian Booze!
On the 15th of March, Morrisons unveiled a new bio-ethanol pump! The pump contains a mixture of 85% ethanol (alcohol) made from sugary crops, and 15% petrol. It is the bio-equivalent of petrol and emits lower levels of pollutants. Because it is made from crops, the CO2 emitted has been directly absorbed by the plant so there is no net CO2 increase in the atmosphere (apart from emissions involved in the production and transport). Crops are also a renewable resource, unlike petrol which is running out.
There are however, a few sticking points with Morrisons’ idea! The fuel can currently only be used in one Saab car and one Ford car; the bio-alcohol reacts with some rubber and plastic in the engine so modifications are needed. The fuel is currently imported (using fossil fuel transport) from Brazil, check out that for sustainability!
In defence of the scheme, the aim is cited as creating demand for this product” and providing “major opportunities for UK farmers”. This would be credible if the demand was not planned to be met by a £20m plant in Downham Market, making 70 million litres of bioethanol a year. When will these centralists learn the efficiency of decentralisation!…A college in Ireland creates all it’s heat and electricity needs (100KW of energy) by burning willow in a combined heat and power system, they use 16 hectares of land….a failed co-firing plant in Yorkshire burned the same fuel (plus extra from managed woodland) and to produce a hundred times as much energy as the college, it required 7167 hectares, whereas a hundred of the college-type systems would only require 1600 hectares!
Small is beautiful in this case. If you’re a farmer why not collect biogas from the anaerobic digestion of waste on you’re farm and you could run your house heating on the gas, or make bio diesel for the community’s transport needs? http://www.masterfarm.co.uk/?id=51
http://renewable-energy-source.info/biofuel.htm
The Largest Strike In The UK Since Sliced Bread Was Invented
The strike of 28th March saw over a million workers strike nationwide, with many hundreds in Norwich. The only comparable strike in terms of size was the general strike of 1926. Sliced bread was invented in 1928. While these are important issues, the strike raised a few questions. People could be heard complaining—why should they get to retire at 60? The answer is—you get what you organise for. If people in your industry are prepared to work together inside or outside unions for a better wages or conditions, then you’ve earnt it. We have to unite to support each others’ efforts for better wages and conditions, rather than allow ourselves to be bitter about the wages people have in other industries.
“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.”- Winston Churchill
Rethink, a mental health charity, recently made a bad decision. They decided to unveil a statue of Winston Churchill in The Forum, in Norwich. While a statue of a politician would usually (and unfortunately) be considered inoffensive, this one is slightly different. This one depicts Churchill in a straight jacket. Churchill’s nephew has said that the statue is “offensive and stupid and turned a sensible campaign into a joke”. Many people seem to agree with him. Apparently, the very idea that our unquestionable overlords can experience mental health problems is blasphemy.
We at The Great Commotion agree that the statue is offensive, but for a different reason. We find it offensive that an organisation that claims to care about people with mental health problems has built a statue of a man who thought that “mental degenerates” should be either sterilized or sent to forced labour camps! Churchill actually put forth a proposal to do so when he was Home Secretary. While he is most famously remembered as a crusader against fascism, he was actually a strong supporter of Mussolini and once wrote to him “if I had been an Italian, I am sure I would have been entirely with you from the beginning to the end”. He was also highly racist, especially towards those he deemed to be “uncivilized”. When Churchill was secretary of state at the war office, the RAF asked him for permission to use chemical weapons on “recalcitrant Arabs”, partly as an experiment. He happily gave them permission, stating “I am strongly in favor of using poisoned gas against uncivilized tribes.”
Because he was Prime Minister when the Nazis were defeated, he is mainly remembered today as a national hero. While we do not deny he played a large part in the downfall of the third reich, remember that Stalin played an equally large part. We at the Great Commotion certainly do not respect Stalin, do you?
To learn more about the darker side of Winston Churchill go to this Z Mag Article
Date Added: January 19th 2007